Upgrade or buy something new?

[CrazyMrB]

I'm about to start grad school, so I'm thinking I should either a) upgrade my computer, or b) buy a new dell

I built my own. My comp:
Pentium D 805 running slightly above stock
1.5GB hodgepodge ram (1GB rated at 667, 512MB rated at 533...both running @ 533)
ATI x800 pro
160 GB WD HDD 7200
320 GB Seagate HDD 7200
SB Audigy
ECS board running an old nVidia chipset (that doesn't support core2, but does support sli)
550W psu

I'm running XP Pro. Mostly I type papers, and make powerpoint presentations (Office 2k7), surf the internet, soon I'll be video chatting with friends, run all sizes of data sets in Excel, SPSS, R, listen to music, record a little music, watch movies, and use a tv tuner

I am trying to conserve money, so I was going to get a 2 x 1GB 667 ram kit and add it to the 1gb 667 stick. Also, I am thinking about getting a newer, yet lower end (3650?) video card to fold with. This should cost me a hair over 100 via newegg.

My other option is to just deal with this computer, and save up for an outlet buy at dell (q6600 machine). Would I see a huge improvement over the upgraded computer?

Basically, price/performance--which option sounds best? My stipend would cover the new computer, but it would leave me short for a month.

 

[tiraides]

If you could find a good deal on a Dell (like one of those <$500 deals), it would easily outperform your computer. I've seen a couple of $500 deals that included the Q6600 as well. Check out gotapex.com, slickdeals.net, or bensbargains.net for possible Dell deals.

For a cheap upgrade, your plan to purchase a 2x1GB 667 kit (is it safe to assume that its DDR2 RAM?) and a new low-end graphics card is a good plan. If you want better overall performance, though, you may want to consider saving up for a new system instead.